Sweet Glazed Basil Pork with Garlic Sesame Spinach and Sweet Potato

The Recipe's Story

Do you ever struggle with finding a good main dish to serve? This pork recipe is a sure hit because of the tangy glaze and I bet you have everything you need to make it in your pantry. I stumbled upon a glazed pork chop recipe in a magazine that had a ketchup and honey base with a huge list of spices. It looked interesting but cumin, honey, garlic and chili peppers just did not sound good to me. I traded cumin for basil and exchanged the chili peppers for chili powder because that is what I had in the pantry. The rest of the ingredients I cut because of taste preference and lack of time. Sometimes lack of ingredients and a little thought surprise my taste buds like this dish did.

My family does not eat pork a lot because it is higher in fat than other protein alternatives. However, if you choose lean cuts such as the tenderloin, loin chops and sirloin roast you cut down on the fat. We have this cut of meat a few times a month because it is quick, easy and a nice change from chicken.  he glaze has a smooth texture and sweet flavor that reminds me of southern dishes. Next to the pork, I served spinach with a bit of sweet potato. The garlic and sprinkle of sesame seed provide some health benefits and give a nutty bite to the vegetables. A long grain rice melody with a few cut carrots provided some whole grains to make a well balanced meal.

The healthy facts about this meal are lengthy. The pork gives you about 32g of protein and almost 2/3 of you daily vitamin B6. Popeye would be proud of you eating your iron filled, beta-carotene providing, folic acid and fiber rich vegetable. Sweet potatoes are packed with fiber, vitamin C, iron and complex carbohydrates. Olive oil offers omega 3, garlic antioxidants and sesame seed give you two important amino acids. One is methionine, an amino acid important for a normal metabolism. The second is tryptophan which is the building block for serotonin. The vegetable dish alone makes this meal a good choice.

Sweet Glazed Basil Pork

2/3 lb. pork tenderloin

3 T ketchup

1 T honey

¼ tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. dried basil

salt and pepper for seasoning

1 tsp. olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Heat the olive oil in an oven safe skillet over medium heat. Season the pork tenderloin with salt and pepper and brown in the skillet on all sides. Remove from heat.

2. In a small bowl combine the ketchup, honey, chili powder and basil. Spread half of the mixture onto the pork tenderloin. Place the pork in the skillet on the center rack of oven and cook for about 12 min or until cooked through. Cooking times will vary based upon the meats thickness.

3. Remove from the oven and let the meat sit for 4 min. Slice into one inch thick pieces and serve with the remaining sauce drizzled on the top of the meat.

Servings:  2

Calories: 284 per serving

Garlic Sesame Spinach with Sweet Potato

1 c frozen, chopped spinach

¼ cup frozen, cubed sweet potato

1 tsp. olive oil

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

¼ tsp. sesame seed

In a saute pan, combine all ingredients together. Cook over medium heat until the vegetables are hot and the garlic is browned and fragrant.

Servings: 2

Calories: 50 per serving